Dangerous Allure
by Simonkal of Inuy
Summary: I have no other alternative. I do it not because I want to. I do it because I have to. I am no different from you. I love, I laugh, I cry, I bleed, I need… I am no different from you. Dark/Vivisection/AU/Adult Content
1. I Am Me And She Is

**A/N**: As with all my fics, all characters will be walking that fine line called OOCness, but some will definitely leap right over it and head for the hills. This is a DARK fic and it will remain DARK. **This is a warning: This fic is not meant for the weak at heart, children under 15, or the strongly religious and it is not promoting a freaking thing. You have been warned, so read on at your own discretion. **There will only be two chapters, so deal with it. This is not…I repeat NOT a love story. The only reason why I'm writing this is because I had this idea while driving to work one day and it just wouldn't go away, so I had to do something with it. I hope you guys like it!!

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**Disclaimer**: I do not claim ownership to anyone. They all belong to the wonderful Rumiko Takahashi.

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_**I Am Me And She Is...**_

The room was quiet, serene almost, with nothing but the iridescent light of a few candles that she'd lit moments after they'd stepped into the rented hotel room.

The walls were covered in cheap, aged, paisley wallpaper that was peeling at the edges and bubbling in the middle; if she had to guess, she would have said that it had been there since the beginning of time itself.

There was a queen bed with four rickety, chipped, and battered posts sitting in the middle of the room with two barely standing nightstands on either side. And the sheets, the hideous looking puke green sheets, were an awful polyester blend that was sure to irritate the skin of anyone who knew the pleasures of true comfort.

Staring at her prey as his chest rose and fell in tune with his heartbeat, she smiled lightly because the sight of him reminded her that none of that mattered.

This place-in truth-at this very moment in time…was the only place that she wanted to be. This is where she could be free to let her wild side take over. This is where she could do things she normally…wouldn't. This was where she didn't have to worry about being found out. This… the red district…Tokyo's renowned slums, was her playground. This is where she could allow that mask that she wore everyday to fall to the wayside. This is where she could be…free.

If her friends knew… If her mother or brother ever found out… If her husband thought for a second… If they knew…

No, that could never happen, because they, no one, not one living human-being would understand why she felt the need to do what she did.

She scoffed dryly at that thought as she ran her hands lightly up her thigh high satin panty hose.

'_They wouldn't be able to handle it.'_

How many times had she done this? How many men had she brought to this place? How many of them had she met here in this district? How many had she met online and directed them to meet her here? How many aliases had she used over the years?

Somewhere along the way, she'd forgotten. Somewhere-as the days trickled into weeks and the months turned into years-she stopped counting because none of it mattered.

Running her hand over the tangled mass on her head, she glanced down at the street below and watched with hungry eyes as a few American sailors walked arm in arm with a couple of native Japanese prostitutes.

'_An American? I've never had one of those,'_ she thought idly as she ran the tips of her manicured fingernails along the edge of her supple bottom lip. '_Perhaps, I'll have to try it one day.'_

At times when she was alone in her home in the upper class neighborhood of Diatshu, she'd wonder what led to this? What was so wrong within her that she felt that she had to do something like _this_ in order to feel a small semblance of peace…of happiness?

She refused to make excuses for herself because she wasn't like any of the others that she'd read about. She hadn't come from a broken home. Her father, brother, uncles, nor her grandfather; none of them molested her. She wasn't bullied as a child. She wasn't starved for affection. And she didn't kill small animals when she was growing up.

None of that described her.

'_It doesn't matter; I am me and she is I,'_ she thought as she slowly glanced over her shoulder at the man whose name escaped her.

He was one of the more attractive men that she had met over the years. His body was perfect in every sense of the word. His hair short and cropped about his shoulders, and his smile…that smile that he had flashed her when she met him 3 hours ago in the bar on the corner, almost…almost made her rethink her actions, but her need to be quenched was an insatiable thing, and in the end, it won over every sense of reason within her one-tracked mind.

Turning away from him, she directed her attention back down to the streets below as thoughts of sayings her mother had taught her over the years ran rampant within her mind, '_What a wicked web we weave when first we practice to deceive. Regrets…regrets are for the weak and the foolish, the dumb and the feeble. There's a first and a final time for everything.'_

She smiled at her reflection in the grimy windowpane. '_My first time? It was the awakening of my soul. It was as if for the first time in my life, I was whole.' _Glancing back at the man whose name she still couldn't recollect, she finished, _'In the end it wasn't enough. That feeling…that wonderful fulfilling feeling was a fleeting thing. It…it drove me…fed me…made me who I am. I am me and she is I.'_

Forcing away her somber thoughts, she allowed her hand to run smoothly over her Victoria's Secret bra and down to her hips that were clad in a pair of barely there lace thongs. There was no more time to dawdle, he was practically awake now and would surely be requesting her undivided attention.

Standing to her feet, she listened intently to the soft click of the heels of her black stiletto pumps against the abused wooden floor. Stopping at the side of the bed, she stared down at him. Her eyes filled with hunger and something that could have been misconstrued as desire.

Dragging the tip of her fingernail down from his chin, over his chest, to his well-carved abdomen, she realized for the millionth time that this craving, this need, this hunger that was buried deep down inside of her was not something new. It had been there since she was in the womb of her mother, it had been there since she was a child playing with dolls, and there was a very real possibility that it was there long before she ever was.

"Wake up, Sleepy Head," she whispered seductively as she climbed onto the bed and sat beside him, her fingers now running sensually up and down his side.

Staring down at him as his eyes lethargically cracked open, she couldn't help but to wonder if he remembered anything at all. For instance, the manner in which they made it to the room. The drinks, their small talk…

He moaned and questioned almost incoherently, "Where…What…" His head twisted from side to side in a manner befitting someone that was lost, and then slowly it came to rest on her. "You?"

"Me," she replied with a smirk as she leaned in and kissed him gently in the center of his forehead. "Don't tell me that you've forgotten," she whined softly, her face set in a school girl pout.

She could tell by the way he stared at her that he didn't understand a thing that was going on, and, to be honest, that was the way she wanted it.

He didn't need to understand a damn thing, just lie there and let her have her way with him.

"The bar… I saw you at the bar. We were talking and drinking," he whispered softly, his eyes pleading for her to enlighten him as to how they ended up here.

She would do no such thing. Instead, she would continue to play the game that she had created…the game that she lived for and would one day die for.

Sitting back, her hands on her hips, she stared down at him and observed sarcastically, "You sure know how to make a woman feel wanted, don't you mister?"

She still couldn't remember his name.

"I…I…" he mumbled as he stared at her unblinking.

She almost laughed at the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look that he was giving her, but she refrained.

"Did we… What happened? Did we have…" He swallowed as he fought with his eyes for them to remain open. "Did we have…sex?"

She could've told him no, but that would be too easy. So, instead, she stared at him, a telling smirk on her face.

'_Let him believe what he wishes,'_ she told herself.

"No…No…No," he mumbled, his head twisting spasmodically from side to side. "This can't be happening. I couldn't have. I couldn't have cheated on her."

Her head tilted slowly from right to left as she stared down at him, totally intrigued. She had never had any of them break down before she was done with them, let alone cry over what they had supposedly done with her, or to her.

Most of them would take one look at her and let their imaginations run wild. They would let their egos inflate to the size of a good year blimp when the truth was they didn't remember…a thing.

"Why do you cry when we've just made love?" she asked. "You told me that it was the best you've ever had," she continued. "You mumbled something about marrying me before you fell asleep," she finished, a downcast expression marring her beautiful face.

She knew what she'd just said was all a lie, but this was a part of the game…her game.

He stared at her in abject horror, his eyes glazed. "She won't…she won't understand. I…I betrayed her. I…I betrayed my wife."

If he hadn't been staring directly at her, she would've rolled her eyes. Men did not worry about such trivial things. They only sought to have sex, to get their dicks wet, to consummate with any and everyone. They did not care whom it was with, as long as it was done.

"She's home by herself. She's waiting on me. She thinks that I'm at work," he offered as he tried to sit up, but quickly realized that his hands and legs were tied to the bed posts. "Please untie me. I…I have to go! My…my wife needs me!"

Ignoring his plea, she crawled up on top of him so that she was straddling his waist. "Tell me about your wife. What is she like? Why did you leave her at home by herself?"

The young man looked at her, a confused look on his face, but the guilt in his eyes; it was a palpable thing to bear. However, it did nothing to faze her in the least.

In all honesty, she didn't care about him or his wife; she just couldn't let him get away so easily.

"Do…do you really want to know? Why would you care?"

She smiled softly down at him and demanded again, "Tell me about her."

He seemed to need a moment to think that over, but when he began, she could see the love in his eyes as he spoke.

"She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. From the first moment I saw her, I knew I had to have her. I…I knew she was meant to be mine. She has a smile that could light up a thousand rooms and a laugh that's so infectious there should be a drug to combat it."

'_He really loves her.'_

"She went into nursing right out of high school because she loved helping people, and…" He choked slightly as a tear began to trail out the side of his eye. "…and she would still be nursing if it wasn't for the accident."

"The accident?" she queried quizzically.

"Driving home one night, she was hit by a drunk driver. That accident, it left her paralyzed from the waist down. Ever since then, it's been me…only me taking care of her."

"Is that why you were here in the district? Because you can't have sex with your wife?"

He shook his head vehemently. "No…no, I was meeting a guy that was going to sell me a top of the line wheel chair that would help her get around the house easier," he asserted, his eyes filled with pride and compassion.

She almost…almost felt bad, but almost just wasn't good enough.

He stared at her, begging her to understand something that her mind just would not allow her to comprehend, and then he finished, "I've never cheated on my wife. Not once in the seven years that we've been married. Never-not once, even after her accident."

'_Is he saying this for my benefit or his own,'_ she thought absently, but quickly came to the realization that…it really didn't matter.

She could have also taken that moment to relieve the poor man of his unwarranted stress about their supposed consummation, but she forewent that thought and instead leaned down and kissed him in the center of his head. "You are…" She then kissed both of his eyes. "…the sweetest man…" She kissed the tip of his nose. "…that I've ever been with. And your wife is a lucky…lucky woman."

Sitting back, she stared down at him as if she was trying to memorize every groove of his face, every wrinkle in his lips, and every inflection in his voice. As she slowly leaned forward over him, she allowed her right hand to reach beneath the pillow he was laying on while her other hand slid carefully beneath the pillow to his left.

"You should have stayed home with her because, unfortunately, tonight…is not your lucky night, my gentle friend," she whispered as she slid the tip of the needle she had hidden earlier slowly into the soft flesh of his armpit.

Leaning down as he bucked slightly against her, protesting what she was doing to him, she covered his mouth with hers in what she had labeled as the goodbye kiss.

Sitting back, she watched as his body relaxed.

'_One'_

She watched with wondrous eyes as his blinks became lethargic.

'_Two'_

She watched closely as he silently begged her not to do whatever she was about to do.

'_Three'_

And she watched with amazement as a solitary tear rolled from each of his eyes.

'_How sweet,'_ she thought acerbically.

She supposed that anyone else would have felt some sort of remorse or perhaps would've changed their minds, but this was not her choice to make. It was his and he had made it when he accepted the laced drink she'd sent him via the bar maid, earlier that night.

'_The choices we make,'_ she thought as she leaned forward quickly and licked one of his tears away.

Bringing the scalpel up to where he could easily see it, she whispered to him as she toyed with the tip, "Don't look at me like that. I am just as human as you are."

She knew that he was as good as done at this point because once the cocktail she'd injected him with took effect; he'd be nothing less than a stuffed teddy bear perfect for a child's playful game of vivisection. He would lay there fully aware and able to hear, and feel…everything, but he would not be able to move a single…solitary…muscle.

She knew that at this very moment her prey was silently begging her not to do it. She knew he was probably screaming feverishly within his mind for help. She knew he was more than likely praying to every god he knew of to stop this, but only she knew that God didn't exist because, if he did, he wouldn't have allowed her to be born.

"Your God, my friend, is not one you can rely on. So please, don't waste your energy," she offered with a smile as she brought the tip of the blade down swiftly, driving it deep into the soft flesh of his chest. Raking it slowly in a downward fashion, she moaned orgasmically as every nerve in her petite body sparked to life.

"Hmmmmm," she moaned sensually as her breasts arched forward and her head fell back onto her shoulder blades.

This was what she loved. This…this was what she lived for. This…this…this was what she craved every second, every moment, every day of her life. This was the game…her game, and she loved it.

Pulling the blade out with a sickening pop, she leaned forward, but not low enough that his blood would transfer to her. Sliding the scalpel slowly into his side as if she was merely slicing into a loaf of bread, she nuzzled his nose, while simultaneously inhaling the air that he exhaled as she methodically dragged the blade down his side, ripping him open.

Kissing his mouth once more, she sat back and watched with a child's bewilderment as his eyes that once held life, hope, and light slowly began to grow dull and ashen.

'_Hojo… That's his name,'_ she thought absently as she switched the scalpel to her other hand and repeated the process on his other side. This time she made sure, she dug in just a little bit deeper so that the damage to his organs would be irreparable and life threatening.

As the pool of blood grew around the body, she pushed up and stepped off the bed, the scalpel clasped loosely in her hand. Stepping back away from the body, she couldn't stop her mind from wondering, _'Is his spirit in this room with me right now, or is it running home to console his soon to be grieving wife?'_

Turning away from the body, she made her way over to the window sill she'd vacated less than 15 minutes ago and sighed softly as she allowed that feeling of oneness, fullness, and joy to flow over her once more.

'_I am me and she is I.'_

Staring out the window, she watched with the fixed eyes of a lioness watching a pack of zebras as a bus unloaded another group of sailors on to the street below.

'_I am me and she is…,'_ she started silently as she pulled the wig she was wearing from her head. Running her fingers through her own long, black mane, she walked over to the decrepit looking mirror and quickly plucked the green contact lens from her eyes.

Sparing a moment of respect, she smiled sweetly at the reflection of her numberless victim.

She'd read in one of the many books, that supposedly had her kind figured out, that she was supposed to take a souvenir of some sort. She always laughed at that part of the book because the best of her kind needed no souvenir to remember their conquests.

Staring at the reflection of the woman that everyone adored, respected, and expected the best of, she smiled genuinely and whispered softly, "I am me and she is…"

The sound of her cell phone cut through her thoughts with the vicious snap of a slave master's whip. Staring at it with bored eyes; she sighed lightly and slowly walked over to retrieve it.

Flipping it open with one hand as she slipped into her black trench coat, she whispered seductively into the phone, "Hi baby, I've missed you," as she calmly buttoned up her coat, and situated her satchel on her shoulder.

"I'm just leaving the office, I should be home within the hour," she lied without batting an eye as she opened and closed the door behind her.

_**Until Next Time… (Your .02 cents are greatly appreciated)**_

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_**Next Chapter: Redemption's Song**_


	2. Redemption's Song

**A/N:** All always all characters will be walking that fine line called OOCness, and yes, some of them might jump right over that line and head for the hills! There are no demons in this fic!!

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**Disclaimer: **I do not claim ownership to anyone!! They all belong to the wonderful Rumiko Takahashi.

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_**Redemption's Song**_

The air was stale-humid around him, almost to the point that he found it hard to breathe. The sky above was dark and starless, casting an eerie shadow to everything and anything beneath it.

The ground was damp from the earlier downpour and littered with discarded plastic cups, broken glass bottles, used tissues, condoms, and condom wrappers-that various men had used with the many prostitutes that called this place their office of sorts.

Kicking one the offending objects away from him, he reached into the pocket of his worn black leather jacket and retrieved a cigarette from the crumpled package he'd shoved into his pocket earlier that night. Placing it in the corner of his lips, he then reached into the front pocket of his tattered baggy jeans, and pulled out the extravagant lighter his wife had given him a few months ago as a birthday present.

Staring down at it, a condescending smirk on his face, he thought, '_If she wants me to stop smoking then why the hell would she buy me a damn lighter?'_

He wasn't by any means upset with her… Hell, he'd never truly gotten upset with her for anything that she'd done, because quite honestly, she could do no wrong in his eyes.

The woman had a heart of gold-there was nothing she wouldn't do for a friend or a family member; all they needed to do was call and ask and she'd be there willing and able. Whenever he was sad about anything, she'd find a way to make him smile and forget his troubles. And more than that, regardless of whom he was, and the fucked up things he did or said, she loved him unconditionally, and she never let him forget it.

'_All the more reason for me to be home right now,'_ he thought agitatedly as he flipped the titanium latch on the silver lighter, and watched a small blue flame spark to life before him. Leaning in slightly, he placed the tip of the nicotine stick within the small blaze and inhaled.

'_I'm going to have quit this shit one day,'_ he thought as he removed the cigarette from his lips and stared down at it as if he expected it to refute his statement.

Shoving the lighter back into the pocket of his jeans, he turned his attention away from his nasty habit and quickly glanced up and down the sparsely crowded street as he wondered for the umpteenth time that night why he'd decided to come out here tonight of all nights.

Up and until a month or so ago, he'd spent the past few years alternating his Friday and Saturday nights between this district-the red district-and Kuni Alley, which were both renowned for prostitution, drugs, rape, murder, and everything else in between.

'_Nothing but a bunch of bottom feeding bitches, the lot of them are,' _he scoffed derisively.

This was the perfect place for a killer or rapist to hideout. It was perfect because everyone looked untrustworthy. Everyone appeared as if they were up to something and would rather kill you than look at you. Therefore, no one questioned anyone about anything and no one saw anything for fear of their own immoral deeds being found out.

So, yes, this place was perfect. It was where the body count over the past few years had begun to pile up. More importantly, it was where the body count of young men had doubled in the past few months, and it was where the one he hunted…the one he was hired to hunt was said to roam.

The police had come to him under the secret of darkness and asked him to join them in this hunt because he had connections within this community that none of them had. He could get into places that they couldn't, and because over the past ten years there had not been a single solitary case that he hadn't been able to solve.

Basically, they wanted the best of the best on this particular case, their _words, not his._

'_Bunch of fucking suck ups!'_ he bit out mentally.

He wasn't a cop-had never been. He wasn't a private investigator-he would never call himself such a thing. He was simply a man…a human with an ungodly insight into the human mind and psyche.

'_They call it a gift, I call it a curse,'_ he thought as he took a puff off his cigarette and ashed it on the ground next to him.

The only things he knew about the assailant was that she was a female that had such a penchant for the scalpel that the taskforce nick named her _Scalpelrella_. He also knew that she was a gruesome attacker, leaving all of her victims eviscerated with no hope of survival. It also went without saying that she was damn near brilliant, very precise, and extra cautious because she never left any trace of herself in any of the rooms or alleys, she utilized. She never left anyone alive nor did she leave any witnesses to speak about the crimes she had committed.

At first, he found it hard to believe that any woman would be capable of such atrocities. So, he'd advised the investigators that maybe the men were gay and that this was the work of some kind of hate group or sexual deviant that had it out for gay men. Unfortunately, the families of all the victims vehemently denied that any of the victims showed or had any gay tendencies.

What also puzzled him was that the men that she chose were all burly, strapping men in excellent health, but none of them-not one-had ever put up any kind of resistance against her. There were never any defensive wounds, no skin beneath their nails, none of her DNA or blood, or even her sweat was ever found on their bodies.

That and the fact that all of the bodies were found nude was the reason that he and the taskforce deduced that it had to be a woman that they were looking for.

'_What is it my baby always says? Oh yeah, men need to stop thinking with their dicks.' _Chuckling lightly at the mere thought of her, he finished,_ 'I think she might be onto something.'_

He still found it hard to believe that a woman-any woman-could be capable of such horrific acts, but he could no longer contest the idea either that maybe, just maybe these were crimes that no other, with the exception of a woman, could carry out without ever getting caught.

'_She must be one angry bitch.'_

After countless hours of going over the case files in his head, he figured that he was probably looking for a woman in her early to late twenties, very attractive, and easily able to fit in with any crowd she chose. He figured she was not a prostitute, but maybe someone that was somehow familiar with the life of prostitution-even if it was only on the outside looking in, which is why she always came back to this place-this district to do her deadliest work.

He also surmised that perhaps she had possibly been hurt by a man or a group of men in her past and was taking it out on these poor bastards.

In the beginning, he wanted to profile her as being narcissistic, but her crimes-the nature of them, the manner in which she carried them out was not in a manner befitting someone that had that holier than thou mentality. She wasn't narcissistic-not in the least. No, it was more like she was simply killing vermin or swatting a fly. It was almost as if she thought she was doing society a favor and that in itself made her crimes so much worse.

Still, something didn't sit right with him with that profile; if she had been hurt and these crimes were taking place because of that, wouldn't the crime scenes have been in disarray? Wouldn't she have disfigured the men's faces? But in all 37 of her victims, none of their faces were harmed in anyway.

'_I guess, I'll have to ask her,'_ he thought matter-of-factly.

That question had plagued him on one too many nights and perhaps that was the real reason why he felt the need to be here, walking within the midst of these people…these vagrants…these prostitutes and Johns until the early hours of the morning.

It was that need to locate answers to those questions that left his wife at home feeling neglected. It left him feeling drained, withdrawn and powerless to stop things he couldn't rightfully comprehend, but desperately needed to before another body turned up.

Taking another puff off his cigarette, he pushed his dark bangs back away from his violet eyes as he watched inconspicuously as a group of sailors walked past arm in arm with a few prostitutes.

He wanted to run up to them and warn them, but if she was here… If she was watching…

He shook his head for even thinking such a thing. _'I've been doing this for far too long now, and I've yet to find her. She's like a ghost…an enigma…a ghastly fantasy. If she was here, the chances are slim that I'd even find her,'_ he thought as he glanced up at a decrepit looking hotel that should have been condemned the year he was born.

'_Disgusting,'_ he thought as his eyes came to rest on a blonde woman sitting in the window staring down at the street with a sad expression on her face. He couldn't really make out her features, because of all the grime and the dirt covering the window, but there was something about her that was almost…

There was a loud crash behind him, and he swirled around, dragging his attention away from the window and the blonde woman. Clutching at the hilt of the 8' bowing hunting knife that was attached to his belt, his eyes came to rest on a filthy malnourished dog that was digging through a fallen trash can.

'_Fuck,'_ he thought as he tried to calm his rapidly beating heart. _'Fucking mongrel almost scared the living shit out of me!'_

Stepping back into the shadows, he turned his attention back to the dilapidated hotel and up towards the window the blonde woman was sitting in, but she wasn't there anymore. The only thing he saw was the light flickering of what might have been candles of some type.

'_She's just a prostitute,'_ he thought as he turned his attention back towards the street, dismissing all thoughts of her. He needed to find someone that didn't fit in, yet did fit in-if that made any sense.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he started down the street to stand near the alley at the opposite end of the street. Stepping into the street, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed his wife's number, but the call went straight to her voicemail. Closing the flip, he decided he'd wait a few minutes before he tried again.

Making his way quickly towards the alley that was a few doors down from the _hopefully_ soon to be condemned hotel, he dialed his wife again, needing nothing more than to hear her voice.

There were a few soft clicks, three rings, and then her soft voice whispered something sweetly in his ear.

"You always know what to say to me," he replied into the phone. "Where are you?"

Stepping to the side in order to allow a woman and man to pass him by, he quickly darted into the alley in order to regain a little anonymity. "Yeah, I'm working late again, but I'll try to be home before the sun comes up, okay?"

Stepping into the darkest corner of the alley that was closest to the street, he avowed quickly, "Love you too, babe. Drive carefully," then hung up as his attention turned to a group of cackling women that were sashaying past him, all of them scantily dressed.

Honestly, he wasn't sure what exactly he was looking for, but he knew he'd know exactly what it was or who it was when he saw it.

Glancing down, he shoved his cell phone into the inside pocket of his jacket. At that exact moment a soft, delicate scent floated to him and held his attention as if it were the ghostly fingers of a specter.

Shaking his head, he narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he stared up and down the street looking for the owner of the scent.

'_Chanel No. 5,'_ he thought, indentifying the scent as his violet eyes scanned the crowd quickly.

'_Black hair, short black hair, blonde hair, bleach blonde hair, man, man and woman, woman, red shirt, striped shirt, skirt, sailor uniform, cheap sandals, black trench coat, long- waist- length glistening black hair, black stilettos, blue suit, leather satchel…'_

He stepped out of the darkness and onto the sidewalk, his head twisting carefully from side to side as if he was a dog looking for its master. '_Black trench coat, black stiletto heels, leather satchel, shimmering black…hair…'_

He licked his lips slowly; unable to believe that finally…finally he had found her. His heart was racing within his chest and his palms were sweaty. Maybe he was jumping the gun a little bit, but this…this feeling…

It…It was never wrong!!

'_She doesn't fit in here, but then again she does. Expensive clothing, but yet they can be mistaken for trashy. Seductress… She could be… She could… Even from behind, I can tell that she has the ability to lure men to their… It's her! It's her!'_

Looking up at the address on the building she'd vacated, he committed it to memory and promised himself that he would send the police back there to do a thorough search of the premises. But for now, he had to follow her…to find out where she was going, and if it was really her, the woman he'd been hunting for more than five years now.

Starting after her, he made sure to try and maintain a decent distance from her so that she wouldn't know that she was being followed. However, the more he stared at her backside, the more he wanted to run up to her, grab her by her shoulders, and spin her around so that he could look into her eyes and see the evil that was surely hidden within.

Side-stepping a drunk man that was staggering towards him talking loudly about absolute nonsense, he quickly shoved the man out of his way and proceeded on as he subconsciously memorized the sway of her shoulders, the way her hair fell down her back in thick luscious curls, and the manner in which she strutted down the sidewalk never looking down once-her head always held high-proud.

He realized quickly that there was an air about her, one that was familiar to him, but so unfamiliar that he didn't have a choice but to discount it as he watched her round the corner at the end of the block.

Slowing, he stopped, inched towards the corner and peered around it in order to make sure that she hadn't caught on to him. Noticing that she was still proceeding on to her destination, he quickly stepped around the corner and proceeded after her, making sure to maintain his distance.

Head held down, hands shoved deep into his pockets, he listened intently to the click of her heels as they clacked against the concrete sidewalk beckoning him to come follow her as if they were merely playing a game of cat and mouse. It was a game that he had become accustomed to even if she wasn't aware that she was playing it with him.

Over the past five years that he'd been working on this case, he'd been playing this game daily, but until now, his foe didn't have a face, a persona, or an actual body, but here she was in front of him, in all her glory-_Scapelrella._

'_Don't jump the gun,' _he told himself, not wanting to get his hopes too high. _'It honestly might not be her. You could be chasing your tail.' _

The absurdity of that thought almost made him laugh, since he knew that whenever he felt this strongly about anything-he was usually right.

Refraining from outright laughing, he watched her come to a stop a block ahead of him, and patiently wait for the light to tell her that it was safe to proceed.

'_Now's my chance,'_ he thought anxiously as he took another step closer.

Less than ten feet separated them, but for some reason he couldn't cover the distance between them, something stopped him dead in his tracks. It was a soft tune…a melody that he heard a million times before, but at this moment…this brief second in time he couldn't recollect just where he had heard it.

'_Damn, I know that… I-'_

Before he could finish his thought, the light changed and she continued quickly across the street.

He was behind her like a mouse hungrily chasing a piece a cheese.

She stopped.

He stopped.

She turned to the left as if looking for someone; as if making sure that she wasn't being followed.

He turned to the right and stared into the grimy window of one of the dirty dive bars that lined the street, his hands shoved deep within his pockets and his head low so that if she looked his way he would seem inconspicuous to her.

Because of the darkness that lay like a black disgusting blanket over the place, he couldn't make out her face-not the color of her eyes, the shape of her nose, or even the tone of her skin. As he stared at her silhouette in the window, he couldn't help but to feel like he was missing something important…very important.

She turned and started down the sidewalk again, seemingly satisfied that she was not being followed and he sighed in relief that he hadn't been found out.

Running his hand down his unshaven face, he started after her again.

'_I can't lose her! This is probably going to be my only chance! I have to stay with her! I have to!'_

She veered off quickly into an alley and he quickened his pace as to not lose her. Nearing the alley, he halted quickly and stepped back and to the side as a black Toyota with dark tinted windows shot out of the alley barely pausing to check for oncoming traffic.

He couldn't make out the model of the car, but he knew it was her; he could tell from her profile.

Staring after her, he hissed, "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

Glancing around him, he wanted to kick himself for not parking on this side of the street, but how could he have known that he'd find her? Still, he wanted to maim him because the longer he stood there mulling over things that he couldn't figure out, she was literally getting away.

'_I have to go after her, but if I go back to get my car; I'll lose her,'_ he thought anxiously as he stepped into the middle of the street, his hands on his hips. His eyes narrowed as he watched the red of her tail lights disappear around a corner a few blocks down.

"Shit!" he hissed heatedly.

Turning at the sound of a motorcycle driving towards him, he smirked as he stepped directly in the path of the rider and waited patiently for him to come to a screeching stop.

"Oi, what the fuck are you…"

Stepping quickly up to the man, he grabbed him by the collar with one hand while punching him dead on the nose a few times. Once was to stun him, the second hit was to let him know he meant business, and the third… Well that was just for fun.

"Sorry about this," he stated not sounding half as sorry as he should have. Pulling the guy the rest of the way off the bike, he pulled the one business card that he carried with him out of his back pocket and dropped it on the ground next to the guy that was currently trying to quell the blood that was draining from his nose. "Call me tomorrow, and I'll tell you where you can find your bike."

Jumping on the bike, he gunned the engine causing the tires to squeal and peel out as he headed down the street and around the corner that he'd seen her turn moments before.

Thankfully there weren't very many cars on the road. He quickly revved past a Honda, an imported Chevy, a Nissan, a Mercedes, and slowed as he came up on a dark colored Toyota.

Driving up close enough that he could see the silhouette of the driver, he quickly fell back behind the Mercedes that was following behind her.

Leaning forward lower on the bike, in order to try and block the chill of the night air, he thought, _'Found her, now to follow her. Hopefully, she'll lead me to her lair and that's where I'll call the others and they'll take her into custody.'_

The road flew by beneath him, the buildings and other cars around him were nothing more than a blur of colors melting into one another creating a rainbow of colors, but he paid no attention to any of this. His eyes were focused on one goal, her.

She veered onto the interstate, he followed.

She drove swiftly in the far left lane heading away from the city and to what appeared to be the suburbs of Tokyo; he followed from the middle lane.

She slowed momentarily to move over one lane in order to get around a slower driver, and then got back in the far left lane; he followed.

'_Where are you going? Why are you in such a rush?'_ he wondered.

Twenty minutes later, he watched her cross over two lanes of traffic and make her way into the exit lane.

He followed like that perfect student or the well behaved child.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, this place, this exit seemed familiar, but it wasn't something that he was willing to spend too much time thinking about. He had to pay attention to her and the route that she was taking because if he lost her… If she was able to get out of his sight for even a minute, he knew in the deepest crevices of his bones…his heart that he wouldn't find her again.

She made her way quickly passed locked botanical gardens, closed shopping malls, late night bistros, and an all night sushi stand that he couldn't help but stare at because it brought up memories.

Memories that told him that he needed to pay attention because this place…this place was just a little too familiar. This drive… The entire drive and even her; they…it was…

He shook his head in an attempt to refocus his attention. Revving the engine of the bike, he shot passed the sushi stand and through the yellow light that she'd passed through a minute or less before.

He watched the tale of her lights make a right onto a street that he quickly found out was lined with massive oak trees, only to brake and make a quick left.

He stopped at the corner since for some reason he knew she would have to stop and wait for the security gates to open.

Staring around him, he mumbled in bewilderment, "This can't be happening. She can't live… She can't live… This shit can't be fucking happening."

She pulled forward slowly through the gates.

Knowing that this particular neighborhood was something of a maze, he jumped quickly off the bike and darted towards the swiftly closing gates. Squeezing through them just in time, he dove into the underbrush in an attempt to hide himself from her, should she look back.

'_She can't live here, damn it! She can't fucking live here!'_ he hissed vehemently as he watched her stop at the end of the short street, and make a right onto the connecting street.

Cutting through a few of the heavily forested yards of a few neighbors; he kept her in sight as he watched her turn the next corner, and his heart… Everything within him slowed to a crawl.

'_No'_

He didn't want to know anymore. He didn't need to know anymore. The familiarity of it all… It made sense now, it made…

'_Shit'_

It made too much sense! It was…It was too fucking familiar! She…she was too fucking familiar! From the very beginning, he knew, didn't he? He fucking knew!

He tried to shake off that feeling of trepidation that was quickly coming down on him.

The moment she'd turned into the neighborhood, he'd realized, it was his neighborhood.

The moment…the second, she'd turned onto his street…

He slowly walked towards the street in question; the lane…the Avenue that he'd called home for the past year.

He didn't worry about her escaping, because he knew that there was only one way in and one way out. It was a cul-de-sac with 3 large homes sitting on it. One of those homes was his own.

As the car that he'd followed from the dirtiest, seediest part of town pulled slowly into the driveway, his heart skipped a beat and sank into the bottoms of his feet.

'_Toyota, Avalon… Purchased two months ago-Anniversary gift.'_

'_Leather Satchel… Graduation gift from her younger brother.'_

'_Leather trench coat… Purchased in Aspen, last year, family reunion.'_

He shook his head as the world he knew, the life he had become accustomed to blurred and twisted into something ugly and vicious.

He wanted to forget this…all of this! He wanted to go back to a time before now…a time before today when he was ignorant to the truth!

His shaking hands came up to cover his face as the door to the car opened and she began to exit. He couldn't look at her, he couldn't…he couldn't look at her because then the truth…the truth would be entirely too real…too final.

This…this just couldn't be happening! What did it mean? What was he suppose to do with this information? What the fuck was he supposed to do with this fucking information?

'_All of the months…the years that I've spent searching… She was…'_

'_All of the sleepless nights… She was…'_

'_All of the deaths… The killings… The… Fuck!!'_

"_You'll catch the person responsible for all of these killings,"_ she'd said to him one too many times when he felt like giving up.

How many times had she brought him back from that dark, desperate, desolate place that he'd get lost in from time-to-time because of this case?

She was the reason he pushed on! She was the reason… She was the fucking reason!

'_Fuck,'_ he screamed in his head as a spell of dizziness came down on him forcing him into the bushes that he'd spent the previous afternoon pruning.

'_No… Not…'_ he thought, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. _'This… is some sick fucking joke! It can't be her… not…not…'_

Another bout of nausea came down over him, forcing him to his knees as his stomach lurched unrepentantly as if telling him that his thoughts, what he wanted to believe about her, were all lies.

He didn't want to believe any of it, he really didn't, but his gut; it told him that what he believed-as hard as it was to believe-it told him it was the truth and no amount of denial was going to make it go away.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard the door of his home open and he closed his eyes, unwilling to face what he knew would come next.

"Is someone out here?" she asked softly, innocently.

His shoulders slumped forward and his head lowered as the soft scent of her perfume, Chanel No. 5, floated to him on the breeze.

At that very moment, the very essence of his soul died. As he stood slowly to his feet, his arms hanging limp, his heart broke for the very last time.

As the soft sound of her feet brushing lightly over the grass that he cut once a week, made its way to his human ears, a solitary tear formed in his eye.

"Inu…Inuyasha, what are you doing out here?" she questioned.

Turning to her, he inhaled deeply as he stared at her, unable to find the words to say anything.

His mind flashed with images of the woman's… the killer's… the murderer's silhouette and he knew… He knew.

'_Dark luscious curls… Head held high…'_

She stepped towards him, and he stepped back away from her.

'_The sway of her hips…'_

"Inuyasha, what's wrong? Why are you out here? Where's your car?"

He shook his head, not wanting to believe any of what his mind…his psyche was telling him, but he knew he couldn't deny it. No matter how much he wanted too, he couldn't.

Staring at her as she took a step back away from him, her face morphed for a brief moment into something vile, something wicked and filled with hatred and sadness, but as soon as it had come, it was gone again.

Blinking a few times, he continued to stare at the woman whom he'd loved from the first moment he had seen her.

'_It can't be you.'_

Hesitantly, he reached into the back of his waistband and pulled out his gun. A nine millimeter that she'd bought him for protection when he'd first started working this case.

She stepped back cautiously as he undid the safety on it.

Staring into the eyes of the one woman whose laughter was enough to brighten his darkest day and chase away the wickedest of dreams, he asked, his voice hoarse and heavy with grief and regret, "Why? Why didn't you come to me? Why… Why didn't you tell me?"

She just stood there staring at him, her arms down, her eyes…her eyes…telling him everything he wanted to know and everything he didn't.

As a slow tear trailed down his cheek, he brought the barrel of the gun up so that it was leveled with her chest. Cocking it, he silently pleaded with her to say something that would make him rethink what he knew to be true.

She said nothing.

"How could you do this, Kagome? How could you kill all those men?"

He knew he knew too much for her to let him live, and he knew too much for them to pretend that this…that he hadn't found out. They couldn't… There was no possible way that they could go back to the way things were.

He had to stop her. He knew he had to. He just couldn't let her walk away from this because she was sick and she would probably end up doing it again, and again, and again.

He couldn't turn her in; she would never survive in jail. Her family…her family would never understand. Hell, he…he didn't understand. No, this…this was the best way. This…this was the only way.

"37 lives, Kagome… You took 37 lives, damn it! 37 men that had families waiting at home for them. 37 mothers, and fathers are mourning, Kagome. How…How could you do this? How could-"

"I am me and she is I," she whispered softly, cutting him off, her expression blank as if telling him to do what he felt was necessary because she couldn't have cared any less about the outcome.

He took another step back away from her as he reached up and wiped his eyes with the back of his free hand.

She stepped towards him wordlessly, and the silence that ensued…

The deafening silence after the loud bang that echoed viciously off the chill of the night was a deafening…crippling…thing.

_Fin_

_July 4th, 2008 4:52 p.m._


End file.
